Brake-ratchet shield for railway-cars.



W. A. MGWATTY & A. A. SINCLAIR. BRAKE RATGHET SHIELD FOR RAILWAY CARS.-APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 26, 1909.

950,266. Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

O O O O O O O O INVENTORS fla /124M abl /1%,

WILLIAM A. MCWATTY, OF PROCTOR, MINNESOTA, AND ALFRED A. SINCLAIR, OF

SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN.

BRAKE-RATCHET SHIELD FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, VILLIAM A. Mo- VATTY, of Proctor, St. Louis county,Minnesota, and ALFRED A. SINCLAIR, of Superior, Douglas county,Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Brake-Ratchet Shield forRailway-Cars, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification, in whicl1 Figure l is an end elevation of asteel hopper car having a hand brake, and having the ratchet wheel andpawl of the brake equipped with a shield constructed and arranged inaccordance with our invention; Fig. 2 is a detailside elevation showingthe brake stafi ratchet wheel and pawl and showing our improved shieldin place on the foot board or platform of the car; Fig. 3 is a plan viewof the brake shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of the shieldforming our invention; Fig. 5 is a sectional plan on the line V-V ofFig. 4, showing the preferred manner in which the detachable parts areassembled together in forming our improved shield.

Our invention relates to the construction of hand brakes used on railwaycars, and the object of the invention is to provide improved means forprotecting the ratchet wheel and pawl forming the locking mechanism ofsuch brakes, and means whereby the brake is made operative at all times.Heretofore the brake ratchet mechanism of such cars has been uncoveredand exposed, and in loading cars, the ratchet wheel and pawl werecovered with the materials loaded into the car. When covered with thematerials in this manner, especially when the materials are soft, theratchet mechanism is rendered inoperative until after the coal or othermaterials are removed from around the brake locking mechanism. Thematerials when moist or wet become packed and hardened so as to preventsetting of the brake, and, in cold weather become frozen, which makesthe pawl movement diflicult, if not impossible.

Our invention is prevent this difficulty and to provide means wherebythe brake locking mechanism is always in an operative condition and bywhich it can be set at any time; and delays occasioned by the necessityof moving materials designed to lessen and covering the lockingmechanisms are overcome and prevented.

In the drawings, 2 represents the end of a steel hopper car having afoot board or platform 3 on which the pawl 4 and ratchet wheel 5comprising the locking mechanism of the hand brake are mounted. Thewheel 5 is secured on the staff 6 of the brake this staff having theusual hand wheel 7 by which the brake is operated by the brakeman.

Surrounding the ratchet wheel 5 is a. con ical shield 8, the shieldtapering upwardly and inwardly and terminating at its lower edge in anannular flange 9 by which it is secured in place on the foot board 3 ofthe car by means of screws 10. Preferably the shield is made in twoparts, 8, 8 which have their edges bent so as to form tongues 11 andgrooves 12 which engage with each other to slide the parts in place in-assem-' bling the shield around the staff 6 and ratchet wheel 5 of thebrake. The side of the shield 8 is provided with an opening throughwhich one end of the pawl 4 projects so as to permit of its engagementwith the teeth in the ratchet wheel 5 and the shield is provided with anoutwardly extending lip 13 which covers the end of the ratchet pawl 4projecting into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel.

The advantages of our invention are many and will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art. The apparatus is simple and is easily appliedfor use both on new cars and on existing cars when secured in place onthe foot board of the car, the shield provides effective covering forthe lock mechanism in moving the materials through.

The shape of the shield is such that any materials dropping on theshield during the car loadingoperations will be deflected from theplatform, and the accumulation of ore or other materials around thebrake locking mechanism is rendered impossible.

Modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts may bemade without departing from our invention. The manner of securing theshield in place may be changed. The means employed for se curing theparts of the shield together may be modified and other changes may bemade.

\Ve claim 1. In a hand brake for railway cars,brake locking mechanism onthe brake stafi, a segmental shield covering said locking mechanismmeans for securlng the segments together in assembled relation and meansfor securing said shield in place around said locking mechanism;substantially as described.

2. In a hand brake for railway cars, locking mechanism on the brakestaff, a segmental shield covering said locking mechanism and means forsecuring said shield in place, said shield having interlocking edgeportions arranged to secure the segments together; substantially asdescribed.

3. In a hand brake for railway cars having locking mechanism on thebrake staff, a conical segmental shield covering said locking mechanismand means for securing said shield in place, said shield havinginterlocking edge portions arranged tosecure the segments together;substantially as described.

4. In a hand brake for railway cars having locking mechanismon the brakestafl', a conical shield formed in segments and covering said lockingmechanism integral means formed on the segments for securing thesegments together and means for securing said shield in place aroundthebrake staff substantially as described.

5. In a hand brake for railway cars, having aratchet and pawl lockingmechanism on the brake staff, a conical shield incasing said ratchetwheel, an opening through the side of said shield through which the pawlextends and an outwardly turned lip on the shield extending over saidopening; substantia-lly as described.-

6. In a hand brake for railway cars, having a ratchet and pawl lockingmechanism on the brake staff, a segmental conical shield incasing saidratchet wheel, an opening through the side of said shield through whichthe pawl extends and an outwardly turned lip on the shield above saidopening,

the segments of said shield having interlocking edge portions arrangedto secure the parts together; substantially as described.

I11 testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands.

WILLIAM A. MoWATTY. ALFRED A. SINCLAIR.

l/Vitnesses as toVVilliam A. Mc Wattyz W. A. MoGoNAoLE, C. G. CARLSON.

Witnesses as to Alfred A. Sinclair:

WV. B. KELLoco, MABE EEQ

